This editorial by Ahmed Samir appeared in Al Masry Al Youm on October 12. It is translated, as usual, by the excellent team at Industry Arabic.

Sisi for
President: The Turn, the Turn, the Turn, the Turn

(1)

The Place: The Republican Guard headquarters

The Time: Days after the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi

The Event: The Brotherhood’s sit-in, followed by clashes in
which dozens of Morsi supporters are killed.

And those who joined the Brotherhood are astounded.

For an entire year, the organization prepared to crush those
whom Mohamed Abdel-Maqsud described as “atheists and hypocrites.” The
Brotherhood did not understand why the “Get angry, Morsi!” campaign did not
succeed, while the “Grind them to pieces, Sisi” campaign did… when the smartest
one of them is a grocer in Zad supermarket. [1]

They didn't understand a simple truth: the security state is
loyal only to the security state.

The Guidance Bureau's use of the organization's police dogs
to break up the sit-in by Morsi's opponents at the presidential palace was
proof that Morsi's continued hypocrisy towards the police and the many changes
that he made in the Ministry of Defense, the intelligence apparatus, the Ministry
of Interior, and the Republic Guard were not enough – and the organization had
to do its own suppressing.

Afterwards, the Brotherhood chose a minister who suited them,
and suited what they wanted to do in the country.

After this minister was appointed, the police killed dozens
of people in front of Port Said Prison because they were armed (doesn't that
accusation remind you of something?) before opening fire on their funeral the following
day -- to the cheers of our brothers in God.

Ibrahim is Morsi's choice… but they brought him on for a
reason. He did not carry his mission out in full for them, but did so for someone else.
The question is, why?

(2)

"He was afraid that he would be accused of using
force."

This delicate phrase does not refer to the artist Nancy
Ajram, but to General Mohamed Ibrahim, the Interior Minister.

According to Ahmed Mekki, the former Minister of Justice,
Ibrahim refused more than once to "break up the Tahrir Square sit-in by
force."

The brothers in God in Morsi's government, most of whom are
now carrying the picture of a sit-in that was broken up by force, wanted to
break up their enemies' sit-in by force, but the same minister refused.

It is clear – extremely clear – that Mohamed Ibrahim is now
not afraid of being put on trial.

But what does this all have to do with Sisi?

To put it simply, if Sisi becomes president, Mohamed Ibrahim
will stay, and no Mohamed Ibrahim will ever have to worry about being put on
trial.

(3)

Sisi for president…

Optimism is treason. No tourism, no investment, no stable
international relations, and therefore no social justice. How can social
justice be achieved when there is not even production or growth?

For the sake of security, they want those who frighten us to
rule. Did you know, my fellow citizen, that the largest share of bombings over
the last decade has occurred during the past 100 days?

The country is headed towards ruin, and those who promised
nothing but security have failed to achieve it. Still, they want their turn in
the seat of power.

It's often said now in Egypt that the first person who
chanted "This time for sure, we're not budging for anyone"[3]
was General Sisi speaking to his chief of staff.

Once, we were told that we could not take away a citizen's
right to run for president simply because he is the president's son, and now we
are told that we can't take away a citizen's right simply because he is the defense
minister in a country ruled by an emergency law and curfew.

They say that the people are looking for a leader… the same
people told us in 2005 that the people are looking for a young man.

Since time immemorial, we've been living in a free country
in which everyone in power has an equal opportunity to run for president.

Will you uphold the tradition?

(6)

He said, as he said as he said

Surround her with tambourines, clap for her

He said, as he said as he said

Who can appreciate this beauty, this beauty

Other than eyes that hope for her… perfume her with
incense

(7)

The Director of Military Intelligence during Mubarak's time; a member of the military council in Tantawi's time; and Defense Minister during
Morsi's time.

For some reason, a certain segment of society does not
consider him their preferred candidate for president.

The Defense Minister is a candidate for president, which
means that for many years to come, our slogan will be "Down with military
rule."

They will say that the Defense Minister is not military
rule. They will also say that the sun is not in the sky and we are imagining
things.

Those who believe that the just state will last for an hour and
the military state will last forever say that the people love him, don't dismiss
the people. Good logic… but the Brotherhood won five elections – all overseen
by Sisi and his military council – so why is their outcome being dismissed?

It is said that the definition of stupidity is doing the
same thing twice and expecting a different outcome, so how should we describe
those who have tried the same thing for 60 years, and now want a different
outcome?

The soldiers of Islamic preaching are gone and the soldiers
of the nation have arrived. We've gotten rid of the Islamist Salafis so that
the Nasserite Salafis can rule us. Those who aren't able to bring us into the
future are content to rule us and harp on about the past.

We do not need a military president.
How many times have callers phoned into the program to say "Egypt is full
of talent, Captain Shobier"?[4]

(8)

Her destiny has come to her,
her destiny

Bringing something she never
expected

This one it's her turn, this
one it's her turn

(9)

Whoever wants to have everything,
loses everything.

Those who want to control
political life in the way that it has been for 60 years, may be taking
the chance that we will discuss everything with the presidential candidate,
starting with the armed forces' budget, and including lands controlled by the armed forces.

It is their right to call for Sisi
to run for office, and it is our right to be against that.

Sisi promised that he would not
run, and that the military institution would not support a candidate… didn't
they see?

How many before them who broke
their promise not to run for president has God destroyed?

Some say we can count on Sisi's
intelligence – that he realizes the danger of running for office. Do not bet on
anyone's intelligence, since it is well known that the only lesson one can
learn from history is that no one learns from history.

They say that he is in the lead in any opinion poll. Did the
lion of Islamic preaching, the young people's lost one, the king of Maryotia Hazem
Abu Ismail do anything but lead the same polls for a year and a half?

We are not spoils to be had, and whoever wants to consider
us as such, let him have his turn. History shows that those who insist on
military trials for civilians end up in civilian trials for the military.

Ultimately, countries of the future are not going to be
ruled by armies. Those who want to wage a war against the future will soon
become the past.

[1]A reference to Khairat
al-Shater's son, Saad al-Shater, founder of the Zad supermarket chain, with a
pun on the name "Shater," which means "smart, clever" in
Arabic.

[2]
These songs lyrics, which are quoted as a recurring motif throughout this
article, are taken from a 1985 play about Egypt's most infamous serial killers,
Raya and Sakina, who went on a grisly killing spree in Alexandria in the early
20th century. In the play, this song is sung by Raya and Sakina as
they are preparing to kill their next victim.

[3] A common protest chant in
Egypt over the past several years that is being ironically attributed to Sisi –
with something of a different meaning.

[4] Captain Shobier is the
popular host of a sports program called "Captain Shobier's News"

Ursula Lindsey is the managing editor of the Arabist blog. She writes about culture, education and politics in the Arab world. She lived in Cairo from 2002 to 2013 and got her start at the ground-breaking independent magazine Cairo Times. She was the culture editor of Cairo magazine in 2005-2006 and served as special projects editor at the independent news site Mada Masr in 2013-2014. She is the Chronicle of Higher Education's Middle East correspondent. She contributes to the BBC-PRI radio program The World, and has written for Newsweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker online, Bookforum and the blog of the London Review of Books.